I realize I have a blog. I realize I haven’t written anything here in what is probably months. But the truth is, I couldn’t be bothered.
I’ve been too busy smacking my head up against a wall and wishing that summer would just END ALREADY!
A month and a half ago, I had the greatest idea to take some extra time off of work during the week. The idea was I was GIFTING my child with the Rites of Summer! Oh, To Be A Child! To sleep late and play all day. What a great Mom I was going to be! Instead of being shipped off to Day Care every damn day of summer, she was going to get some real KID time.
The problem is that every other child in the neighborhood has gone on some sort of summer long vacation. One was shipped to her Grandmothers in, like, Idaho, two are on “holiday” in foreign countries, and two others are in some sort of summer long Karate camp.
Plan. Fail.
You can only play so many games of Life before you start bleeding from the eyes. Not to mention, that somehow it’s MY fault that there aren’t any kids to play with. Like I shipped them off myself.
Trust me, if I could fly to Italy and pick that little girl up just so she would play with mine, I would.
Make matters worse, no vacation at all planned for the summer.
It’s just us. In the house. Like rats. Pecking at each other. There have been mornings that I have opened my eyes to have her standing there…as if to will me awake…with “that look” on her face.
Two mornings ago, the first thing out of my mouth was “What did I do NOW?”
I’ll be starting school shopping in the next few weeks…This will be me.
These things bloom, fall and die so fast – that this was the first year I was able to get out and snip some for a vase before they were gone. Only problem was is that we’ve had so much rain in the last few weeks that they were COVERED in ants. I hate ants.
I mean, I really hate ants. It’s one of those psychosemantic things. If I see ants in the house – I start feeling them crawl on me.
Apparently the trick is to ‘swish’ them in the sink with water and some soap. I didn’t know that. So, I spent a good 30 minutes hand picking the ants off of them. Better luck next year.
It was sometime during my daughter’s kindergarten year that it was explained to me, and I’m para-phrasing (but not much), that our daughter would more than likely be an average student….but she was extremely bright. Confused by how she could be “extremely bright” but only rank as an average student I pressed the matter for further explanation. The term “street smart” was used for my daughter.
Street Smart, y’all.
You get imagines of a five year old hangin on the street corner, pants down around her butt, making sure all her peeps are in line. Someone has to take control of Chutes and Ladders after all. Why not my daughter.
Over the last year we’ve seen more and more of her street smart’s. She knows how to size up a situation pretty well. Usually has a somewhat plausible argument for most things. And when she wants something – usually starts with “You are the best Mommy in the world”
She also knows how to get her Grandfather to empty his pockets full of change. She’s got more money in her piggy bank right now than I do at the real bank.
However, the “average student” has come back full circle and for the last few months we’ve been discussing with her teacher about retaining her for one more year. There’s just some things she’s just not getting – mostly reading. And since reading is kind of a major point of school …The three of us have decided that holding her back one year is probably the best course of action.
The decision would have been far harder if she were older – and more established with school and friends. We’ve all but worked out that she can have the same teacher again – and we will continue to work with her over the summer on her reading. What we are all thinking is that she’ll eventually catch up on her reading – and be a bit more excelled in her math.
Turns out she is a whiz at counting coins.
I finally sat down with her to let her know what was going on. She was, understandably, upset. Disappointed that she has to do all the same crap over again. But after some thinking on her part she pointed out that she WAS the smallest and youngest in the class. Every one else is bigger and smarter. Now she’s a bit excited that SHE’LL be the oldest and smartest.
What finally cinched it: She remembered her boyfriend is currently in kindergarten. If she does 1st grade again – they might be in class together.
I picked this up in France. Well the closest I’ve ever been to France. I was in the France Pavilion at Epcot in Disney World. Giving my husband a little break, my daughter and I decided to do a little shopping in the cosmetic and fragrance boutique. Without question…this was an impulse buy. I certainly [...]
I’ve mentioned before that I have some anxiety issues. It’s nothing so severe that I need medications or therapy – but mostly because I self medicate with boxed wine and have learned to LIVE with my anxiety. I see that as a win on both sides. The thing about having anxiety issues AND being a [...]
Once the bedroom was done, I packed up all the supplies and put them all neatly away in the garage. Paint brushes were cleaned and paint cans were stored away for future touch ups. I headed back upstairs to admire all my hard work and headed towards the master bath to clean up. And screamed. [...]
A friend of mine started a weekly “Love List” on facebook. Once a week she posts a list of things she’s currently “loving”. I thought it was a clever idea – however, if I’m going to type anything of substance, I thought it would be best to do here. I really only have so much [...]
I completely forgot that I was going to share these pictures. The whole re-do started with the murdering of the armoire. Everything else fell into place slowly over a few weeks. Here’s the bedroom before any of this started. And here is where we are now. I’m really pleased with the final result. I’m finding [...]
On rare occasions I’ll let my daughter play in my jewelry boxes. I remember playing with my Grandmother’s things when I was a kid – sitting at her vanity and putting every piece of jewelry on. I can’t recall if I was pretending I was a queen or a princess – but the memory is [...]
